Why hire a recruiter when you have a perfectly capable HR department? At first blush, it may seem like precious budget dollars would be better spent elsewhere. But stop and consider the importance of successful hiring. When asked what percentage of their success was dependent on the performance of those who reported to them, a majority of managers responded with 90.

The cost of a bad hire can be devastating – and the benefits of a good one are proof positive that landing the best talent is the best investment your business makes.

Access to Qualified Candidates

Skilled recruiters have extensive databases, including:

Active candidates: These individuals are actively engaged in job searches. They employ an overt search strategy; for instance, their resumes are widely circulated on and off line. They represent about 10 percent of the qualified candidate pool.

Semi-active candidates: These currently employed persons have made a decision to change jobs. Although their minds are made up, their search strategy is covert in order to protect their confidentiality. They make up about 20 percent of the candidate pool.

Passive candidates: These are the 70 percent of individuals who are not in the job market. The best way to reach them is through professional contacts — and foremost among these is a well-qualified recruiter.

The most important element of your hiring strategy is attracting qualified, interested candidates. By partnering with a specialized recruiter, you can do this in greater numbers, exponentially improving the likelihood of a successful hire.

ROI throughout the Hiring Process

Most job failures result from the inability of well-intentioned people to work effectively together. Having a dedicated recruiter coordinate your sourcing, hiring and onboarding process keeps all parties on the same page and ensures continuity and ongoing success.

You can concentrate on what you do best. The time it takes to find, screen and pre-interview candidates takes you away from other core duties. By outsourcing recruiting, you get this time back.

The chance of candidates withdrawing themselves from consideration drops dramatically. Hiring managers experience up to a 40 percent chance of this occurring. Recruiters reduce or eliminate this possibility by prequalifying candidates and ensuring that the best ones stay involved in the process from start to finish.

There’s a greater likelihood candidates will accept your offers. Many companies experience a rejection rate on job offers of up to 50 percent. A skilled recruiter helps you construct and present offers in a manner that gains quick acceptance.

Without the assistance of a recruiter, approximately 20 percent of hires fail due to counteroffers. Recruiters design a customized transition strategy for each situation, matching the motivations of the candidate to those of the hiring organization.

Build a Relationship

By developing a long-term relationship with a niche recruiter, you can avoid settling for mediocre talent. As your hiring partner, your recruiter develops an in-depth knowledge of your organization, its leaders and its employment needs. This enables them to quickly bring good candidates forward when the need arises.